


Sunshine and Salt

by coffeeandcyanide



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, Post BoO, alternative ending for BoO, pernico - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-25
Updated: 2015-01-25
Packaged: 2018-03-09 01:15:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3230708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeeandcyanide/pseuds/coffeeandcyanide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico took care of Percy after annabeth died during the giant war. Despite what he told Eros, nico still loves Percy. But Percy will never love him back. Or will he?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sunshine and Salt

I look at the jagged scar I had left on the ground, moments after Percy had told me that Bianca had died on their stupid quest.  
But when those zombies came after Percy, I knew I couldn’t let them touch him. I hated him for letting Bianca die but I wasn’t going to kill him.  
And now our roles were reversed. His girlfriend Annabeth had died at the hands of the giants. He had loved her a lot. It had been evident in the way he had looked at her. It was evident in the way he was distraught when Atlas’s soldiers kidnapped Annabeth. They weren’t together then but even I could tell that they should be. Perhaps that was the reason I could never really be around them.  
Percy had been so quiet after her death. He couldn’t even fight properly until his dad came to their rescue along with the other Olympians. Even then I think Poseidon did something to help Percy. Maybe he lent him some strength the way Reyna did to help her soldiers. Then he fought better than he ever had. He became a freaking cyclone of war. And after all the fighting, the cyclone died. And along with the cyclone, Percy died as well. It took all of his friends to keep him alive after the war. Gods, that kid stopped eating, talking, looking at people. He became a taller version of me.  
But I didn’t run away from him this time. I stayed and tried to help him. I was probably the only person he could bear to be around apart from his mom and Grover. Probably because I could tell him about Annabeth and what she was doing in the underworld. The poor kid was heartbroken when I told him that Annabeth chose to be reborn to try for the Isles of The Blest. So I stayed with him and took care of him. I held him as he cried and blamed himself for not having saved Annabeth. I stopped him when he tried to hurt himself. During the violent nights, I was the only one who could calm him down. I held him till the angry tremors shaking his body stopped; till he stopped hyperventilating and crying; till he fell asleep exhausted. But that was the only way he could sleep: absolutely exhausted. And even then he woke up screaming, crying for Annabeth. It was only for the sake of Percy that I stayed at camp half blood.  
And it was only recently that he started improving. The frequency and brutality of the nightmares got down to normal demigod standards. He still looked like a skeleton and his skin was quite pale, but his eyes started looking alive again. Well, maybe not alive, but more like they could actually live again.  
And now, nine months after the war that broke all of us, I am still at camp half blood. Still hoping that Percy could care about me; that I could matter to him the way he matters to me.  
“Nico?”  
I turn around, unfortunately red, to face Percy  
“Percy.” Even though my bones have melted into a pool of celestial bronze, my voice manages to stay solid. Thank the gods.  
“What’re you doing here?”   
“Just thinking.” No. no. no. How did Percy find my secret spot. No one is supposed to find me at this cliff. No. no. no.   
He stands beside me, not looking at me but at the ocean spreading out in front of us. Our shoulders are brushing. Well, more like my shoulder is brushing his arm. It really pisses me off how even after my growth spurt, my head reaches just above his shoulders. Like a centimeter above them.  
Once again, his unnaturally pale skin shocks me. In the moonlight he looks paler, almost glowing. It’s actually physically painful to see him this pale and this skinny. To see his strong, toned body become a pile of bones with some skin over them. His pelvic bones jut out along with his ribs and collar bones. But gods, those collarbones. His collar bones make me melt. I could spend all day giving him hickies on those collar bones. NICO. STOP THINKING ABOUT PERCY LIKE THIS.HE IS YOUR FRIEND.  
A touch on my hand makes me realize that Percy is still beside me. And that he has been saying something.   
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”  
“Uh… I was just …um I wanted to thank you… for the past few months”  
“Percy, you don’t need to thank me. I am your friend –” I wish I was more “- and that’s what friends do. They take care of you.”  
He looks down and I realize that he looks vaguely pissed off.  
I turn back to the sea. It’s difficult looking at him and knowing that he will never be mine. That we will never be more than friends.  
His hands pull my body in his direction and I look at him, absolutely shocked. His face is slightly flushed and his sea-green eyes are looking into mine. I notice how the moonlight flushes his eyes of their violent color and makes them look softer like the sea does just before sunset when it looks like someone lit a light under it somewhere.  
Then I realize that his features shouldn’t be this near to me. I feel his warm breath tickle my face and it smells like the ocean and – oh my gods. Are his lips on mine? Is he kissing me?  
Shit. Percy Jackson is kissing me.  
I need to do something. Stop being a statue Nico. Kiss him back, goddamit!  
His arms circle my waist and pull me onto my toes. I move my lips against his lips, with his lips. My arms go around his neck and my hands end up tangled in his hair. His lips are so soft and warm and they taste faintly of sunshine and salt. He bites my lip softly and then his tongue is in my mouth and thank the gods that he is holding me otherwise I would have been on the ground. My skin tingles with electricity as his arms move against my back, his fingers brushing my spine. I tremble against his touch and pull his body closer to mine. My hands roam over his shoulder blades before caressing his collarbones. He shudders under my fingers, moans and kisses me harder, if that is even possible. My body turns into jelly as he kisses my jaw, his nose brushing lightly against it.  
And then softly, he pulls away. I can’t even look at him; my eyes stay at his orange shirt, unable to move up to his eyes. His arms are still around my waist and then his lips are on my forehead just for a second. For the first time in my life, I don’t mind our height difference  
“I really, really like you Nico… and I need you…you make me happy and sane and I –“  
I press my lips against his.  
“I really, really like you too Percy.” I whisper against his lips.  
I look into his eyes and they are alive again. Glowing sea green in the dark. I touch his cheekbones lightly with my thumbs and then rest my head on his chest.  
Our arms around each other.   
Our heartbeats in sync.  
His head on mine.  
Percy doesn’t need this as much as I do.

**Author's Note:**

> So this was my first fanfic. I hope you liked it. Constructive criticism is appreciated :)


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